Press
Press release - 2013 dates announced with 2011 evaluation
MANCHESTER INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL
DATES FOR 2013 ANNOUNCED
AS EVALUATION FIGURES RELEASED
The fourth Manchester International Festival will take place 4 to 21 July 2013.
Headline figures for MIF11 are released today ahead of a full evaluation to be published at the end of October. The evaluation is based on data collected by Morris Hargreaves McIntyre for their report on the Festival: ‘Beautiful, Innovative, Creative’.
The evaluation demonstrates that the Festival has made considerable strides in building on the achievements of the festivals in 2007 and 2009 – as well as learning from their shortcomings – to deliver an even more successful third edition in 2011.
MIF11 presented Björk’s ambitious three week Biophilia residency; director Robert Wilson’s startling new piece for the stage, The Life and Death of Marina Abramović; uplifting evenings of devotional music in local places of worship with MIF Creative’s Sacred Sites; the electrifying live art show 11 Rooms; Victoria Wood’s glorious new musical That Day We Sang, and new work for children of all ages in participatory sonic experience Music Boxes and Doctor Who adventure The Crash of The Elysium.
“We are so pleased with the overwhelmingly positive response we’ve had from audiences, media, and artists following the 2011 Festival,’ said Festival Director Alex Poots. ‘We are very grateful to Manchester City Council, the Arts Council England and all our partners and sponsors for their continued support of the Festival. We look forward to presenting ambitious new work to audiences from Manchester and beyond for many years to come.”
Notable achievements include raising £2.28 million in funds from co-commissioners. Many of these co-commissioning partners will go on to present the shows around the world following their premiere in Manchester, giving the Festival a growing national and international presence. The evaluation also recorded a 126% increase in overseas visitors to the Festival, with ticket bookings coming from 51 countries.
Key figures:
• 20 new commissions
• 213 performances
• One third of the programme free
• £2.4 million raised in sponsorship, with the Co-operative Group joining existing top tier
sponsors PZ Cussons, NCP, Mint Hotel, Bruntwood and Manchester Airport Group
• 14 national/international co-commissioning partners
• 12 local co-producing partners
• £23.3 million advertising equivalent value of media coverage
• 383 volunteers recruited
• £2.28 million raised in co-commissioning funds
• £37.6 million economic impact
• 4007 participants in education sessions
• 80% tickets sold
Councillor Mike Amesbury, Executive Member for Culture and Leisure, Manchester City Council: “Whichever way you look at it, this year’s Festival was a resounding success and shows that the Festival is going from strength to strength despite the prevailing difficult economic climate. It makes a major contribution to Manchester’s economic and cultural life, and is underlining the city’s international reputation.”
For more information, photographs or interview opportunities contact Nadja.Coyne@mif.co.uk / 07799 532 373
All general and commission press releases are available for download, along with images – please contact press@mif.co.uk for access.
